Dido writes: "Anyone who follows other topics will see that Joye Joe has now become a profesional expert on causes of aircraft disasters" ----- Didn't know you have been following me on every forum, but it is nice to know that I have a loyal follower/fan out there. But don't stalk me too much though.

Dido, how is Ukraine planning on paying for those trains? By the way, high speed trains have made it to Russia already, so you are a little late, my friend. Ukraine is not the first one.

Dido writes: "Anyone who follows other topics will see that Joye Joe has now become a profesional expert on causes of aircraft disasters..." ----- Well, my secret theory is that Ukrainians show down the airplane right when it was about to land, hoping that the blame will fall on Russians, since it happened on Russia's turf. Ukraine has a good track record for shooting down planes from the sky. Those sneaky Ukrainian missiles! I think it was a Ukrainian pay back to Poles for all that opression during the age of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and such. Stay classy, Ukraine!

In today's press conference Boris Nemtsov has called on the West to impose personal sanctions on some of the leading Russian politicians. He did not spell out the exact nature of personal sanctions presumably leaving many options open.

The list, according to Nemtsov, should begin with Vlad Putin for his leading role in suppressing opposition, followed by the first deputy head of the Russian Presidential administration Vladyslav Surkov, who "introduced censorship on mass media, first of all on TV" and who is responsible for electoral falsifications as well as for attacks on the opposition.

Sanctions should also be targeted at Vasyl Yakymenko, radical Head of the Putin-Jugend, as well as at the deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechyn who bears prime responsibility for the Yukos affair and the fraudulent sentencing of Khodorkovsky. The list should include two Russian judges, - Viktor Danylkin and Olga Borovkova who sentenced Russian opposition leaders after the Dec. 31 public rally.

Its now up to the EU states and the US administration to back up their criticism with actions.

After reading the story and privately admiring some of the rather explicit photos of Anna Chapman, Putin's favourite Russian spy, Joe has immediately voiced his objections. Apparently he would rather have everyone forget about this fiasco of the Russian foreign intelligence despite Anna's widely reported popularity in Moscow, as stated in the article:

"Ms Chapman is treated as a superstar and a national heroine. She has just gained a leading position in the Young Guard (Molodaya Gvardiya), the youth wing of the United Russia party which utterly dominates the country’s politics"

For comparison only, here are a few random examples of very recent WHATABOUTISM" in the discussion of opposition arrests in Russia:

"The way US has been handling Wikileaks case most definitely has undermined its own credebility" - by Joe

"That will kill yacht-building businesses in Europe, not good for the economy." - by Joe

"Plenty of people get wrongly arrested, jailed and killed by the police in America." - kochevnik

Without realizing that he has fallen into his own trap, Dido is heavily involved into "whataboutism". Just look at these series of posts of his, not related to the article whatsoever. Dido posts: "What about this town in Siberia?", "What about Chapman?", "What about _____ ?" It is just a bunch of whataboutisms. True, his links may hold some valid info, but are they relevant? No. Every article about Russia enables Dido to start linking 'what about this...' sources. Might as well go all the way to Peter the GReat or Ivan the Terrible. Why stop there? Let's mention Mongols as well.

"The story of spy Anna 'Chapman' taught the West a lesson, and she now has a prominent position in Russia's Young Guard
Alluring, sexually voracious, schooled in the darkest of bedroom arts at KGB spy school: if Anna Chapman, Russia’s best-known spy since the British traitor Kim Philby, did not exist, the screenwriters for the next James Bond film would have to invent her.

"Abuse of power continues ... But Russia has become a go-getting capitalist country, with a concentration of glitz and glamour that puts the West to shame.
And nothing epitomises that better than the story of Anna Vasilyevna Kushchyenko, the flame-haired Kremlin temptress.
As Anna ‘Chapman’ (a name she gained from her unwitting British husband), she taught the West a big lesson. Along with the other ten ‘sleeper’ spies unearthed in America last June, she lived inconspicuously among us, exemplifying the weakness of our society to penetration from the xenophobic, greedy and secretive gang that misrules Russia."

".. But back in Russia, Ms Chapman is treated as a superstar and a national heroine. She has just gained a leading position in the Young Guard (Molodaya Gvardiya), the youth wing of the United Russia party which utterly dominates the country’s politics — and is headed by Vladimir Putin.

"... Chapman's closeness to President Putin means she has a leading role in the Young Guard - and she is writing a book, although it is unlikely to reveal anything
Ms Chapman is well-placed to play a leading role in Young Guard activities.

"She has also posed for steamy pictures in a Russian men’s magazine and is said to be writing a book, though this is unlikely to reveal much about her recruitment, training or tasking. She also gained a post last October at FundServiceBank, part of a shadowy conglomerate close to Russia’s secretive defence and space industries.
The bank’s initials are the same as the KGB’s main successor, Russia’s Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (Federal Security Service) FSB."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1345985/How-Russian-spy-Anna-C...

Dido the Economist writes: "There is, and always will be a huge market for second hand discounted yachts and airplanes since such markets know no borders. Fire sale prices on the Russian oligarch-owned mansions all over Western Europe will attract customers from the US, China, Saudi-Arabia, Iran, as well as Israel, etc. Back to Economics 101, Joe !!!" ----- Yes, but once you confiscate Russian yachts, you will need to confiscate from others as well, in order to meet the demand. Perhaps start taking yachts from Ukrainians, Germans, Mexicans, etc. Also, if you take these yachts away, who will be buying new yachts just to lose them again? That will kill yacht-building businesses in Europe, not good for the economy. Economics 102, Dido!

There is, and always will be a huge market for second hand discounted yachts and airplanes since such markets know no borders. Fire sale prices on the Russian oligarch-owned mansions all over Western Europe will attract customers from the US, China, Saudi-Arabia, Iran, as well as Israel, etc. Back to Economics 101, Joe !!!

Joe wrote: "Will you start taking these assets away from people who actually own them?"

No, not at all. Just make the ownership of any assets purchased by non-residents using 'suspect' or laundered funds less and less attractive, raise or impose new taxes and the market demand will decline, prices will hit the bottom forcing most non-resident oligarchs to sell their asssets for $0.50 on the dollar.

From what I get from WSJournal, Forbes, etc. the value of Joe's Russian "peanuts" in Las Vegas cassinos must be hitting rock bottom. No wonder he is worried !

enriquecost wrote: "..Skolkovo started one month ago, so if already there are two projects working in the place, that is great!!"

Keep dreaming ! Read on.

"If Skolkovo gets two new scientific/business projects every month during the next decade and 25% of them result in a successful business, that will mean..."

Keep dreaming. But where did you get this funny idea about TWO new projects EVERY month ??? And about "25% of them result in a successful business" ??

The Russian reality is rather different. Here is part of it:

"The “fresh asphalt” in front of the pavilion turned out to be nothing more than wooden boards that were covered with Ruberoid roofing material. The whole episode was like a scene out of the book “The Autumn of the Patriarch” by Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez in which Americans pack up their officers’ cottages to the last board and bolt and ship them home in containers..."

Skolkovo "projects" were a typical Russian "Potyomkin village", built just to impress the Czar, or the Kremlin commissar, or call him what you like, the President !

Putin has become so brazen, confident in his power and detached from reality, that nothing (especially not his own image in the world) worries him one bit. And he has a valid reason for this brazenness: EU is too afraid to say anything, and US cannot do anything either, although it isn't afraid to voice its discontent.

The ONLY way to really pressue the corrupt Russian system:

1. To forbid them entrance into EU and

2. Forbid them from holding their ill-gotten assets in EU.

Corrupt beaurocrats and various officials know that there is no future in modern day Russia, so they send their kids abroad and keep their cash there as well. Remove this possibility and they start to cry like children.

MONEY is the weapon of choice in the 21st century, thanks to globalization and resultant blurring of borders.

@hikeandski, I completely agree with you. Through these attacks that Putin is showing the world just how unjust and corrupt Russia is becoming. I had previously read an article about a journalist who was arrested and then mysteriously died in jail, Then I saw another article, where one of the most affluent persons in Russia was arrested on flimsy charges as well. Russian authorities cannot continue arresting people who publicly or subtly oppose the government. By doing so they only prove further that there is unrest in the state, and also it cause more fear towards the government as well as more hate.

Maybe its time that Putin listened to the people he is arresting, and try to fix the distrust and unhappiness that exists in Russia.

Waltron writes: "Incredible the old Russian Chauvinists are still here Joe The Reader, Kuzmich, etc - these ultra nationalists supporters of this dictator Putin .....and in front of them the courageous very intelligent, our European friend, this great Ukrainian Didomy !!!" ----- We never really left in hte first place. How are things in "Germany" by the way?

Dido writes: "The former PM of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko charged the Yanukovych government with mishandling of the economy and called for the creation of a temporary parliamentary committee to investigate the government and the National Bank’s policies." ----- Can she do that?

Another thing - given her track record of being a responsible financial person and almost driving Ukraine's economy into abyss, I doubt someone will take this gas princess seriously.

Dido writes: "in Ukraine Yanukovych seems to be pursuing the same political objectives, - suppress the opposition to secure a free hand in reforming the country’s political landscape in order to ensure his own uninterrupted rule." ----- A further evidence that Russia and Ukraine are alike.

Kuzmich writes: "I heard over the news that many of the western reporters are leaving Ukraine." ----- 2 things. Either they are reporting back to the US, after the Russian correspondent asked Gibbs a tough question; or in retaliation they are relocating to Russia, to get revenge for asking Gibbs a tough question.

Or perhaps since the Orange Revolution is over, there is no more reason to praise Ukrainian democracy.

Either way, Dido is right, the Economist needs to pay more attention to what's going on in Ukraine.

An interesting thought Dido. I think the next time we may hear about Ukraine is when Russia may do something like cutting off gas, so that it will look like Ukraine is a victim, so everyone will be feeling sorry for Ukraine, and won't look at those issues you raised earlier. But you are right, I don't even remember last time some attention has been given to Ukraine, a bigger player compared to Baltic states. Why is that is beyond me.

kuzmich wrote: " you always miss reports on Ukraine from the same Bloomberg .."

How did you ever come to that conclusion ? I read many reports from a variety of sources, but keep most of the bad news to myself. Surely, you don't expect me to praise Yanukovych and his Kremlin-friendly Party of Regions ? Who in his sound mind would have anything positive to say, just for starters, about their treatment of the BYUT opposition (starting with Tymoshenko), or the staged disorders by the Regional deputies in the Rada, or the plain silly "back to the USSR" education "reforms" initiated by Kremlin's stooge Tabachnik, etc., etc.

I am still wondering what keeps the Economist from providing their take of the situation in Ukraine ? The Economist is rather generous in offering all sorts of assessments and comments on the events in Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, etc. - including on matters of secondary interest (if any at all) - but something keeps the editors from requiring their correspondents to dig deeper into both political and economic events in Ukraine in the past 12 months. Is the Economist waiting for some dramatic event like another Russian gas cut-off in the middle of the winter ? Or mass arrests of the Ukrainian opposition, not unlike what has recently taken place in Minsk or in Moscow ? There is plenty to write about if only the Economist editors would show some interest.

Western Ukraine, which was part of Poland until WWII, lost a great oppotunity to join the European Union (E.U.) at the same time as Poland (2004) or Romania (2007)

The present common state (Ukraine) is much closer from any point of view (religion, alphabet, language, history, economy, family) to the Russian Federation than to Western Europe, as Eastern Ukraine is more populated (Kharkov, Donetsk, Sebastopol) and has an stronger economy.

If the former President of Ukraine had supported Eastern Ukraine (Donbas) to secede and become part of the Russian Federation as Republics (Donbas Republic and Crimea), then in the rest of Ukraine "Nationalists" closer to Poland and Lithuania would have become the majority, and after joining the E.U. could have adopted the Roman alphabet and strengthened the Kiev Patriarch of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic church, for example.